Ambrose Hotel in Santa Monica, California

I found the Ambrose Hotel on 20th street in Santa Monica, CA. That’s 20 blocks from the ocean! The hotel was much cheaper than basically all other decent hotels in the area and the price includes a lovely continental breakfast and parking, which I appreciated. The main front doors open automatically and leads to the lobby where breakfast is self served. The front desk does not have a lowered section for wheelchair users. If you have your own car then one must enter via the garage which does not have an automatic door and needs to be opened with your room key. The door itself was a little on the heavy side. The inside elevators will take you directly to your room or you stop on the lobby floor.

Only one room at the Ambrose Hotel is wheelchair accessible and that is room #330. This room is located at the very end of the hall which is great for low traffic noise but possibly a little nuisance if pushing in a manual wheelchair because the hallway is carpeted. The door to room#330 is wooden and did not have lowered peep hole. The entryway hallway is wide and included a full length mirror and coat/bag rack though not at a regulated ADA height. The temperature controls are also in this area and are within reach. The main area of the room is carpeted. The king bed can be accessed by wheelchair on either and is at a good transferable height. The desk next to the bed is not tall enough to roll under nor is there a lowered closet bar. A small patio exists with a view of the hotel courtyard and surrounding palm trees but the patio door and the patio itself are around 26.”

The door to the bathroom slides and has a gap at the base which doesn’t offer much privacy. There are actually two showers with grab bars and hand-held shower nozzles: one with a tub and the other a roll-in. An adjustable plastic shower bench with a back rest may be provided if needed. Across from the shower with the tub is the roll-up sink. A magnifying mirror is also there but is not adjustable for someone in a wheelchair to use. Across from the roll-in shower is the toliet. In the photo below you will see a travel pad has been added but this is not provided by the hotel.